How the Mizo population of Kerala celebrates Christmas

“I miss home this time of year … it would be so festive there.” This is Saizampui Sailo talking about Christmas celebrations back home in Mizoram. A student of the civil engineering stream at the College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET), Thiruvananthapuram has been celebrating Christmas or Christmas ever since she moved to the city three years ago.

“In CET we are 16 from Mizoram – 13 boys and three girls. Some have gone home, the rest we are here,” says Saizampui, who is now in his fifth semester of the course.

It’s time to say Christmas chibai Or Merry Christmas for the small Mizo community of Kerala which has been gathering in Thiruvananthapuram every Christmas under the leadership of the Kerala Mizo Association formed in June 2009. There is also the Trivandrum Mizo Christian Fellowship which was started in 1986 by nine Mizo students of CET.

“According to our records there are about 80 Mizos in Kerala; Thiruvananthapuram has about 40 of them. Our people are working in the hospitality sector – hotels, spas, restaurants, salons etc. Not all of them come to the gathering because it is a busy time of the year. The number has gone down in the last few years. 6. Some posted at the Air Force Station have been transferred,” says Wilson Wanramhluna, president of the association and the fellowship.

“Last year about 70 of us attended and the year before, about 100 people came,” says Wilson. Apart from CET, Mizo students are studying at Rajadhani Institute of Engineering and Technology, Attingal and TKM College of Engineering in nearby Kollam district. Rajdhani Institute has 27 students and TKM has 4 students and most of them come to Thiruvananthapuram on Christmas day. Even though three Mizo students are doing their post-graduation at a government medical college in Thiruvananthapuram, they don’t have time to participate in the festivities, says Wilson.

“What Onam is to Kerala, Christmas is to us. In Mizoram, the season starts on the first day of December. Offices will be closed as Christmas approaches and there is a festive atmosphere everywhere,” adds Wilson.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the festival is on December 25 only. The association rents a chapel at the Kerala United Theological Seminary, Kannamulla, also known as the Kannamulla Seminary, where they hold a special service on Christmas morning. “Usually we have a service on the second Sunday of every month. On Christmas Day, after the service, we sing traditional songs in the Mizo language. Since most of them are young people, it’s a very energetic music session,” says Wilson.

Exchange of gifts is an integral part of this gathering. “It’s interesting because we don’t know who we’re giving or who we’re receiving gifts from. Then we move on to the important part of the day—preparing the feast. Since no students come to the seminary, we use their kitchen and dining hall,” says Wilson. who has been working in IT sector since 2010 in Thiruvananthapuram.

While the pork spread is the main dish, there will also be beef and chicken delicacies. “Our food is simple and bland, especially compared to Kerala food. We mostly steam or smoke or boil the meat; there’s not a lot of frying,” explains Wilson. There will be smoked or boiled pork, beef porridge, chicken curry etc. besides some vegetarian dishes. “If someone comes here from Mizoram, our families usually send greens and some vegetables, like stinky beans, samtawk (a type of brinjal), antam (mustard), khanghu (climbing wattle), chakawk (vegetable fern), pumpkin and pumpkin leaves, passion fruit leaves etc.

The Mizos are rice eaters, especially sticky white rice. “We have a special chili, which looks just like yours Country origin (Bird’s Eye Chilli) But it is many times spicy. It is crushed and placed on every table, with salt and sometimes garlic added to it. As the whole food is bland, this chili gives it a spicy flavor,” he says. After lunch, the members disperse. Wilson adds that Mizos from different Christian denominations come together for the service.

Saizampui says that the grand feast in Mizoram is on December 26. “Festivals are centered around churches. On Christmas day we go to church three times for service and spend the rest of the day at home, getting ready to prepare for the feast at our church the next day,” she said.

Wilson mentioned that there will be decorations and lights around Mizoram. The road has become a no-vehicle zone. On the day of the festival, animals are slaughtered and feasts are prepared in the respective churches. Since each denomination has its own church, they all have separate feasts. “There are many churches in small areas and they all have to believe in the environment by preparing their own Christmas. Dressed in traditional attire, people enjoy the whole day,” he says.

Vanlasangjuala, an eighth semester architecture student at TKM, who is spending his fourth Christmas with members of the association, says there is a lot he misses about Christmas. “The spirit is completely different in Mizoram. It is winter and therefore very cold. The days are short and it gets dark around 5pm. We Mizos love to sing. So we sit around the fire and sing carols. There are songs we only sing at Christmas time. I Can’t do that here,” says Vanlasangjuala. “This is the time when we like to sunbathe,” he says.

Wilson adds that the community comes together to pray and feast during Easter.